Family cruising with 19 and 16 year old boys

[ddbArizona]

My family and I are planning a cruise for July 2009. We have been on Royal Caribbean and Carnival in the past. We enjoyed both. We have always gone to the Caribbean in the past except for one year we went down the Pacific. We didn't like the weather at all on the Pacific side. It wasn't a very good trip.

We are thinking of doing a 4 day trip to the Bahamas. My wife and I are in our mid 40s and we have 19 and 16 year old sons. The biggest problem comes with the 19 year old. On most ships the teenage activities only go up to 17 and the drinking age is 21. So it seems like there is nothing for the 18-20 year old group. I know drinking isn't the only way to have fun but try to tell that to a college student:). By the way, he is a responsible drinker from what I can tell or atleast when he is with me.:rolleyes: I just think it might be a good way for him to meet young adults in his age group.

We are looking at the Norwegian Sky since 18 and up can drink beer and wine with a parent authorization. I would like to hear suggestions from people in a similar situation that have children in the same age groups, especially if you have been on the Norwegian Sky. I know this is the first summer for this ship in the Bahamas but I was wondering if anyone else with teenagers and young adults are planning this trip for the summer. The more kids in their age group, the more fun they will have. The more fun they have, the more fun mom and I have.

Any help on this idea or any other ideas for a great summer vacation would be appreciated.

[rebeccalouise]

you are lucky your boys want to travel with you! I have two sons (8 and 21) and the older one hasn't cruised with me since 2005 (he was 17).

 

He is doing the Norwegian Pearl with his two college buddies next week but doesn't want to cruise with Mom anymore.

 

If you are doing a 4-day- just sign the waiver and let him drink. He can not socialize in the youth program with the 17 and under crowd. So he will be with the adults and he is already drinking if he is in college.

 

Make sure that he pays his own bar tab though!

[Luv2Cruise525]

My family is in the exact same situation! My brother and I are extremely close and wanted to do stuff together at night but since he's younger than 17 and I'm older than 17, there wasn't much to do in terms of night life. The 18-21 year old meet and greet (on carnival) was horrible. It was in a lounge where other activities were going on which made it difficult to find people. I didn't feel comfortable going into the adult club by myself and I'm not a gambler. It was definitely hard to find people my age and it was even harder to be able to hang out with my brother at night. I think that there needs to be an 18-21 group that meets in a secluded area and has some organization. I do not think that there needs to be a special club for them though. We're going on a cruise soon and I'm hoping to meet some people on the roll call which I think will make things a lot easier! Good luck!!!